Cooneen Ghost House

Reported / claimed activity

• The alleged activity went far beyond mysterious knocking. According to the accounts, the family experienced a series of increasingly violent events. ◆ The endless knocking: Knocks were heard on the front door, windows and internal doors. The family would investigate, only to find nobody there. ◆ Heavy footsteps: Loud footsteps were reportedly heard in a room used to store hay, even when it appeared to be empty. ◆ Flying crockery: Plates, pots and pans were said to rise into the air before crashing violently against the walls. ◆ Music from nowhere: Tunes including The Soldier’s Song and The Boyne Water were reportedly heard inside the house. Strange banging allegedly kept time with the music. ◆ Shadows on the walls: Witnesses described strange shapes appearing and gathering on the walls, alongside reports of furniture being violently disturbed. ◆ The breathing beds: The local priest, Father Coyle, reportedly witnessed blankets rising and falling as though someone were breathing underneath them, despite nobody being visible. ◆ Groans from the hay store: Strange groaning sounds were reportedly heard coming from the room where the heavy footsteps had been heard.

• ◆ The attempted exorcisms As the incidents became more frightening, Bridget sought help from her local church. According to the account published by We Are Tyrone, Father Coyle and Sinn Féin representative Cahir Healy witnessed some of the reported disturbances themselves. ◆ Father Coyle sought permission to carry out two exorcisms in an attempt to end the activity. ◆ The rituals reportedly failed to stop the disturbances. ◆ Local sympathy for the family began to turn into suspicion, with some people accusing the Murphys of practising witchcraft. For Bridget, the situation had become unbearable. She was dealing not only with the frightening events inside her home but also with the rumours circulating about her family.

• ◆ Did the haunting follow the family to America? This is arguably the strangest part of the story. In 1913, Bridget and her children left Cooneen for Glasgow, intending to start a new life in America. They hoped that leaving the house behind would finally bring them peace. But according to the local account, the knocking allegedly continued aboard the ship and after the family reached America. ◆ The family reportedly heard the familiar knocking again during their journey. ◆ Even after settling into a new home, the unexplained noises were said to continue. ◆ Eventually, the disturbances became less frequent and reportedly stopped altogether. If the story is taken at face value, it raises a fascinating question: was the activity supposedly attached to the house, or did the family believe something had followed them?

Background and folklore, separate from member eyewitness experiences.